Greasy B

Too early to tell but I guess I'll store my camping gear away instead of worrying about being washed of a gravel bar at night. The fishing gear will stay at the ready for now. Most of the larger rivers will take the first few inches pretty easily, after 3 or 4 inches all hell my break loose.

I enjoyed your reports. It's encouraging to hear there are still so many great places to go where the fish out number the tourist. Thanks.

Could this be like the perfect storm we had on Labor Day weekend about 10 years ago. It started to rain when my brother and I shoved off on a 3 day float. It was still raining when we took out. We just managed to keep our equipment dry, at times it rained so hard we used an empty cooler to bail the John boat. The Gasconade came up about a foot and a half but remained clear. We had the best 3 days of Smallmouth fishing of our lives. And as a topper the rain scared all the other river users away. The perfect storm.

That's tough because there are no secrets, no hidden gems and no forgotten about hot spots in the public domain. Behind a locked gate is about your only hope. If I was younger or much older I would be sneaking in golf courses and cemeteries.

Oh and there’s the time thought I was being robbed at bologna point, but that’s a story best saved for a gravel bar campfire.

Leave the big boat at home. Even at high flows this is an extremely demanding river to navigate, therein lies it's attraction to many of us. By all means go but please hire a guide. After a couple of days on the water you will know just what I'm talking about.

The first time was a sad incident where a mentality disturbed women told the police my friend and I were on our way to her house with guns to exact justice for some cruelty her child had endured at the hands her boyfriend. Well there was no cruelty and we didn’t have any guns and for all I know there wasn’t boyfriend either. The other time was in a bar when it was raided in the name of the war on drugs. The local police along with the feds burst into the place with guns raised and screaming for everyone to hit the floor. About a hundred patrons were held at gun point for about 4 or 5 hours while a searched for the drug dealers and the contraband was conducted. I’ll never forget the jelly bellied cop with the pearl handled revolver aimed at my head. His hand was shaking and beads of sweat were dripping from his forehead. When it was all said and done they held and searched us in violation of our 4th amendment right and the only evidence of a drug deal was a couple of joints someone threw on the floor. In a subsequent law suit the authorities admitted that they had no warrent or real justification by settling prior to trial.

I have had a loaded pistol aimed at my head three times in my life. Twice by LEO's and once by a random kook in north St Louis. The kook quickly lowered his weapon with a laugh and disappeared. The two LEO's told to not move or else they would blow my brains out. I darn near peed my pants. Both LEO's pointed their weapons at me because of a false report. Sounds like the kook was less threatening.

Be on the lookout for Man-Bear-Pig. She could be lurking nearby.

Boy I've had some close calls but normally my boat wears the scar not me. Ouch is right. I guess I shouldn't take pleasure in others misfortune but have to chuckle a little when I see a jet spew a steady stream of gravel from it's outlet, especially when the operator is completely unaware. I seen 4 boats on BP last month do that on every riffle they went through for miles.

Wow! Just like that the bubble of ignorance that surrounds my head popped and I breathed the fresh air of intellectual clarity. The country and its myriad social and economic issues are now solved with one simple statement. Thanks,

You can't beat a trip like that. Excellent fish.

Going uninsured is an option. A person just needs to be about dead when you go to the ER so they admit and treat you. You will get a bill that you can never possibly pay but if you simply pay a hundred bucks a month for life they will leave you alone. Wait a minute that sounds like socialized medicine doesn't it.

Great story, I needed to hear that one. Good for you!

This also happened to every Shimano spinning reel I ever owned. I gave my last one away and will never buy another. This information should be all over the Internet. A can't imagine anyone doing a modicum of research not knowing it.

Best dish I have ever had is Drunken Noodles at the Pearl Cafe, a thai restaurant on North Lindbergh. You can order the normal spice which is very mild or you can add heat on a pedestrian scale of 1 to 5 with 3 being about right. If you young and adventurous you can order heat levels up to 100. When you go above a heat level of about 25 you are asked to sign a release form. Most all the dishes are very good and the service excellent. This place as become so popular that the wait for a table at lunch time is not practical, so go a little early or late if you can.

X3

Sweet boat!

I guess I woke up this morning with a dark cloud over my head, and maybe I’m a little sour and a little fed up with seeing another beautiful Ozark stream with much poorer fishing than what should be expected given the habitat. The last time my vehicle was broken into was a few years ago at Buck Hollow on J F, but I almost always leave my truck at an outfitters lot. When I do leave my vehicle overnight at an access I’m extremely relieved when I do find it intact. You will from time to time find a report of vandalism on this forum, maybe not as rampant as I may have led it to be.

We sawed off the stock. It's a pistol grip.

ANSI Z87. 1-1989.

Come to think of it I've been carring a Red Rider BB gun on every overnight trip for the last 20 years or so. I don't have any problems with coons and if I did I wouldn't shoot anyway for fear of mistaking a skunk for a coon. The BB gun has provide countless hours of entertainment plinking beer cans in camp. I went so far as to buy a higher powered pellet gun but mostly leave it at home in favor of the Red Rider. Best $20.00 I ever spent.

Having spent considerable time on Big Piney this summer I feel I can speak with some authority when I say the only decent fishing you find is mid way between access, the further apart the access the better the fishing. If the access is primitive such as one only a canoe or kayak can be launched you may find some fish nearby. If the access has a boat ramp that a jet or john boat can be launched you will find that the meat keepers have taken all the fish home to the frying pan regardless of what ever regulations may apply. You may also find that all the turtles have been shot, game fish gigged and maybe even dynamited. As is the case at many of the stream access in the area it’s likely your vehicle will be vandalized as well. Sorry for the dour report but few knowledgeable anglers on this forum will argue with it.

Do not leave any valuables in your vehicle when parking overnight at either access. Sorry for not giving any fishing advice but if find your car has it's windows shot out when you arrive at the take out you'll forget about any fish you may have caught.

Slack granted. Maybe when your done reading it we should start a thread about the book. Compare the progress of the conservation movement from the time the book was written and now. Aldo Leapold's description of the Colorado River delta when he roamed the area and it's current state should jerk a tear out of any outdoorsman with a heart.